Dota 2 only had a minor balance patch since TI 2023. This led the fans to believe the same old metagame would dominate matches in ESL One Kuala Lumpur, but one hero has been storming the tournament while defying expectations: Slardar.
The deep sea fish made an unexpected comeback to the Dota 2 meta at Kuala Lumpur, and even professional players are struggling to figure out why. Currently, Slardar is the second most contested hero, with teams trying him out in different positions and with varying skill builds, indicating they weren’t quite expecting the hero to pop off.
Dota 2 fans who are well-versed with Slardar shared their thoughts on a Reddit thread, highlighting the events that led to his Kuala Lumpur domination. Slardar featured the same kit without any notable nerfs or buffs through 2023. The main reason why the hero was completely ignored before Kuala Lumpur was the popularity of Slardar’s hard counters.
Chaos Knight, Bristleback, and even Grimstroke turned the laning stage into an impossible mission for Slardar. With Chaos Knight and Bristleback falling out of the meta, they were replaced by Spectre and Luna; two heroes that Slardar can lane against exceptionally well.
When Slardar maxes bash, he becomes a formidable lane bully. Considering he can also defeat a Tormentor alone, Slardar rightfully rose to fame, especially in the offlane. While ranked Dota 2 players might follow the same Slardar recipe for success, pro players continue to experiment with different strategies to find the most optimal way to play the hero.
ESL One Kuala Lumpur action continues with its playoffs tomorrow, with the first elimination matches taking place early in the day. The tournament will end on Dec. 17.
